Thanks for supporting Veterans Day Parade

By Paul G. Levesque

Published: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at 01:45 PM.

To the editor:

On behalf of Rolling Thunder Inc., Chapter NC-5, and all veterans, past and present, I would like to thank the thousands of patriotic citizens in the Jacksonville-Onslow community for your support of the 18th annual Veterans Day Parade held on Nov. 9 in Jacksonville.

As the parade made its way onto Western Boulevard from Coastal Carolina Community College, it was an amazing sight to see both sides of the road lined with parade supporters, extending the entire route of the parade. This was a truly awesome tribute to our nation’s veterans.

Hosted and organized for the past nine years by Rolling Thunder Chapter NC-5, this parade has grown in size and significance.

For the third consecutive year, Jacksonville has been designated by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Day National Committee as a “Regional Site for the celebration of Veterans Day.” This is noteworthy and reflects highly on the support we show our veterans, past and present.

This year’s parade featured nearly 100 entrants, which included military units from Camp Lejeune, MCAS New River, Camp Johnson, U.S. Naval Hospital, Camp Lejeune, and a Coast Guard boat. The parade was led by the 2nd Marine Division Color Guard and 2nd Marine Division Band.

We were honored to have local high school bands, law enforcement, fire and EMS, scouts, veteran organizations, businesses, car clubs, motorcycles, local and state officials, and a host of others too many to name.

On behalf of Rolling Thunder Inc., Chapter NC-5, and all veterans, past and present, I would like to thank the thousands of patriotic citizens in the Jacksonville-Onslow community for your support of the 18th annual Veterans Day Parade held on Nov. 9 in Jacksonville.

As the parade made its way onto Western Boulevard from Coastal Carolina Community College, it was an amazing sight to see both sides of the road lined with parade supporters, extending the entire route of the parade. This was a truly awesome tribute to our nation’s veterans.

Hosted and organized for the past nine years by Rolling Thunder Chapter NC-5, this parade has grown in size and significance.

For the third consecutive year, Jacksonville has been designated by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Day National Committee as a “Regional Site for the celebration of Veterans Day.” This is noteworthy and reflects highly on the support we show our veterans, past and present.

This year’s parade featured nearly 100 entrants, which included military units from Camp Lejeune, MCAS New River, Camp Johnson, U.S. Naval Hospital, Camp Lejeune, and a Coast Guard boat. The parade was led by the 2nd Marine Division Color Guard and 2nd Marine Division Band.

We were honored to have local high school bands, law enforcement, fire and EMS, scouts, veteran organizations, businesses, car clubs, motorcycles, local and state officials, and a host of others too many to name.

Our main goal is to organize a parade to honor our nation’s veterans and bring this community together in observance of Veterans Day. This goal was definitely achieved for 2013 thanks to everyone who took the time to support this special event.

I would like to give special thanks to all the military personnel who participated in the parade and to Steve Yoho of Little Caesars Pizza, who provided food for them at the end of the parade.

Thanks to all parade participants from our community as well, and we hope to see you again next year. Let’s continue to show our veterans we sincerely appreciate and support them! Semper Fidelis